On April 27 James Decker took over as head of the $1.8 billion research program when Alvin Trivelpiece became executive director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The 46-year-old Decker, who was hired by Trivelpiece in 1973 after working as a plasma physicist at AT&T Bell Laboratories, has held a succession of departmental posts, most recently serving as the office's deputy director.
In an hour-long interview, Decker ticked off the range of issues facing the office, which operates nine multiprogram laboratories and 27 specialized facilities that employ more than 30,000 scientists and engineers. On the previous day he had waded through more than 400 questions fired at department officials by the dozens of states seeking help in preparing site proposals due August 3 for the $6 billion SSC project.
"I'm confident we will have international cooperation and participation on the SSC, first in the construction phase and ...
